George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 
COLONEL  FLOWERS 


Ubeobore  Benebict  IL^man,  ID.3D., 
Bishop  of  flortb  Carolina. 

liftg  ©ears  a  fkiest,  Hecember 
Nineteenth,  1891.  *  * 


Pamphlet  Collection 
Duke  Divinity  School 


THE 

FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

n 

OF  THE 

Ordination  to  the  Priesthood 

Of  the  Right  Reverend 
THEODORE  BENEDICT  LYMAN,  D.D., 

BISHOP  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


NEW  YORK: 

JAMES  POTT  &  CO.,  Publishers 
14  &  16  Astor  Place. 
1892. 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/fiftiethanniversOOIyma 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICES. 


AT  the  meeting  of  the  Seventy-fifth  Annual  Convention 
of  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina,  held  in  Asheville, 
May  13th  to  15th,  1891,  during  an  absence  of  the  Bishop 
from  the  chair,  Mr.  F.  P.  Haywood,  Jr.,  offered  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which,  on  motion,  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee,  to  consist  of  three  clergymen 
and  two  laymen,  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Con- 
vention to  report  to  this  Convention  an  appropriate  service  to 
be  held  by  the  Church  in  commemoration  of  the  ordination 
of  our  Bishop  to  the  Priesthood,  which  took  place  December 
19,  1841. 

The  Rev.  A.  B.  Hunter,  the  Rev.  Bennett  Smedes,  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Murphy,  Mr.  J.  B.  Batchellor  and  Mr.  F.  P. 
Haywood,  Jr.,  were  appointed  the  committee  called  for  by 
the  resolution. 

This  committee,  being  unable  to  report  in  the  short  time 
at  their  disposal,  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  be  con- 
tinued and  to  print  their  report. 

In  pursuance  of  arrangements  made  by  this  committee, 
invitations  were  issued  to  the  clergy  and  Church  people  of 
the  Diocese  and  of  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina,  to  join  in 
services  to  be  held  in  Raleigh  on  Saturday  and  Sunday,  De- 
cember 19th  and  20th,  in  commemoration  of  the  Fiftieth  An- 
niversary of  the  Ordination  to  the  Priesthood  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Theodore  Benedict  Lyman,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese. 

On  Saturday,  December  19th,  in  the  Church  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  Raleigh,  the  Bishop  met  a  large  congregation  of 
Church  people  for  a  solemn  celebration  of  the  Holy  Com- 


4 


munion.  The  Bishop,  preceded  by  the  vested  choir  of  the 
parish  and  a  number  of  his  clergy,  entered  the  Church  sing- 
ing, "  The  Church's*  one  Foundation  is  Jesus  Christ  her 
Lord." 

The  Te  Deum  was  sung  in  place  of  a  hymn  in  the  service, 
after  which  the  Bishop  delivered  the  address,  which  is  printed 
as  a  part  of  this  report  of  services  held. 

At  the  close  of  the  address  the  Eev.  M.  M.  Marshall,  D.D., 
President  of  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese,  stepped  forward 
and,  on  behalf  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Diocese,  present- 
ed to  the  Bishop  a  Pastoral  Staff  in  an  address  of  which  the 
following  is  a  part : 

In  an  age  of  "restless  rationalists  and  self-sufficient 
critics,"  at  a  time  when  throughout  the  land  there  is  such  a 
lamentable  and,  as  we  believe,  dangerous  depreciation  of 
rightly  constituted  authority  both  in  Church  and  State,  we 
desire  to  bear  unmistakable  and  visible  testimony  to  our  rev- 
erence for  your  apostolic  authority,  and  of  our  ready  and 
willing  obedience  to  your  godly  admonitions  and  counsels  as 
our  chief  pastor,  under  Christ,  of  which  this  ancient  symbol 
is  a  token  and  pledge.  We  would  have  this  staff  first  of  all, 
Right  Rev.  Father,  to  mean  this. 

And  again,  sir — if  it  be  not  unseemly  thus  to  speak  in 
your  honored  presence — we  would  have  it  bear  witness,  after 
some  sort,  to  our  gratitude  to  God  for  the  zeal  and  fidelity 
and  abundant  labors,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  for  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath 
made  you  overseer,  that  have  so  conspicuously  characterized 
all  the  years  of  your  ministry  in  our  midst. 

We,  of  the  clergy  particularly,  thrown  by  virtue  of  our 
official  relations  into  more  intimate  contact  with  our  chief 
pastors  than  others,  know,  as  the  public  cannot  know,  the  in- 
cessant anxieties  and  constant  cares  and  onerous  responsibili. 


5 


ties  inseparable  from  the  office  of  a  Bishop  in  the  Church  of 
God,  especially  in  a  diocese  so  large  and  so  largely  missionary 
as  this ;  and  we  know  too,  both  clergy  and  laity,  how  bravely 
and  cheerfully,  through  good  report  and  through  evil,  through 
stress  of  weather,  and  not  unfrequently  in  bodily  suffering, 
our  beloved  Bishop  has  borne  them  all. 

And  if,  sir,  now  or  at  any  time,  in  the  near  future  or  in 
the  distant,  this  jubilee  memorial  and  token  of  the  sympathy 
and  gratitude  and  affection  of  your  Diocese  shall  serve  to 
lighten  by  so  much  as  a  feather's  weight,  the  burden  that  you 
must  needs  bear  to  the  end,  we  shall  thankfully  feel  that  this 
day's  doings  have  not  been  altogether  in  vain. 

And  as  men  who  have  passed  their  "  three-score  years  and 
ten "  are  wont  to  lean  upon  staves  for  physical  support,  so, 
when  the  shadows  of  life's  declining  day  lengthen  across 
your  pathway,  and  you  enter  the  dark  valley  where  every 
earthly  pilgrim,  high  or  low,  must  lay  his  weary  burden 
down,  may  this  memorial  of  our  love  be  to  you  the  grateful 
assurance  that  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  your 
Diocese  the  prayers  of  your  people  will  go  up  with  your  own 
to  the  Good  Shepherd  of  all  the  Christian  fold  in  the  tender 
terms  of  the  Pastoral  Psalm  :  "  Though  I  walk  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil ;  for  Thou 
art  with  me;  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 
Amen. 

The  Bishop  himself  celebrated  the  Holy  Communion  and, 
assisted  by  clergy  present,  delivered  the  Elements  to  the  large 
body  of  communicants  who  came  to  receive  them  at  his  hands. 

On  the  night  of  Saturday,  the  19th,  the  Bishop's  house  in 
Raleigh  was  thrown  open  to  the  large  number  of  acquaint- 
ances and  friends  who  without  special  invitation  came  to  of- 
fer him  their  congratulations  upon  the  happy  anniversary  oc- 
casion. 


6 


On  the  night  of  Sunday,  December  20th,  a  congregation 
which  filled  every  seat  assembled  in  Christ  Church,  Raleigh. 
After  Evening  Prayer,  a  historical  address  on  the  Church  in 
America  during  the  last  fifty  years  was  delivered  by  the  Hon. 
Kemp  P.  Battle,  LL.D.,  late  President  and  now  Professor  of 
History  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill. 
An  address  on  behalf  of  the  laity  was  made  by  Mr.  F.  S. 
Spruill,  of  Louisburg,  and  on  behalf  of  the  clergy  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  B.  Cheshire,  Jr.,  D.D.,  of  Charlotte,  and  a  letter  was 
read  from  the  venerable  Mr.  Richard  H.  Smith,  of  Scotland 
Neck,  who  has  been  connected  with  the  Diocese  since  1832. 
The  Bishop  thanked  the  congregation  for  their  interest  and 
affection,  which  had  evidently  greatly  touched  him,  and  urged 
them  to  renewed  efforts  for  the  progress  of  the  Church. 

The  united  choirs  of  Christ  Church  and  of  the  Church  of 
the  Good  Shepherd  sang  Mendelssohn's  "  How  lovely  are  the 
Messengers  that  preach  us  the  Gospel  of  Peace ! " 

The  offerings  of  the  congregation  at  both  services  were  de- 
voted to  Diocesan  Missions,  an  object  which  lies  nearest  to 
the  heart  of  the  Bishop. 

The  tone  of  joyful  thanksgiving  which  had  pervaded  all 
the  services  was  kept  up  to  the  end,  as  choir  and  clergy  left 
the  church  singing  the  grand  old  German  hymn,  "  Now 
thank  we  all  our  God." 


AN  ADDRESS 


Delivered  by  BISHOP  LYMAN, 

IN  THE 

CHURCH  OF  THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD,  RALEIGH, 
On  Saturday,  December  19TH, 

Being  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  his  Ordination  to  the  Priest- 
hood on  December  19TH,  1841,  in  St.  John's  Church,  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  William  Rollinson  Whit- 
tingham,  D.D. 


ADDRESS. 


Brethren  and  Friends  : — The  occasion  which  has  called 
us  together  to-day,  while  of  deep  personal  interest  to  me,  has 
also  awakened  such  a  measure  of  kind  sympathy  in  the  Dio- 
cese that  I  feel  deeply  grateful  for  it.  Only  a  few  of  those 
called  to  the  rank  of  the  Christian  ministry  are  ever  spared  to 
celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  ordination  to  the 
Priesthood.  And  I  should  do  injustice  to  my  own  feelings, 
did  I  not  give  expression  to  the  profound  thankfulness  which 
I  experience  to-day,  in  view  of  the  goodness  and  mercy  which 
have  so  long  spared  me,  as  well  as  for  the  health  and  mani- 
fold mercies  which  I  am  still  permitted  to  enjoy.  The  one 
feeling  which  is  most  strongly  awakened  within  me,  is  that  of 
humiliation  and  sorrow,  that  in  so  long  a  ministry  much  more 
has  not  been  accomplished.  I  am  deeply  sensible  how  much 
has  been  left  undone  which  ought  to  have  been  done,  and  to 
what  a  degree  human  infirmity  has  availed  to  lessen  the  re- 
sults which  might  have  been  secured.  The  last  eighteen 
years  of  my  life  have  been  passed  in  the  discharge  of  epis- 
copal duties  in  this  Diocese,  where  my  services  have  always 
been  most  kindly  welcomed,  and  where  a  warm-hearted  and 
affectionate  people  have  ever  manifested  the  truest  love  and 
devotion.  They  have  shown  also  an  appreciation  of  my 
labors  very  far  beyond  my  deserts ;  and  my  whole  ministry 
in  North  Carolina  has  been  especially  cheered  by  the  uniform 
confidence,  the  forbearance,  and  the  cordial  sympathy,  which 
it  has  been  my  great  privilege  so  fully  to  share.  All  this  has 
only  served  to  strengthen  the  tender  ties  which  have  bound 
us  together,  and  which  I  trust  may  remain  unchanged  so 


10 


long  as,  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  my  ministrations  may 
be  continued  among  you. 

During  the  fifty  years  which  have  passed,  my  work  has 
been  carried  on  in  fields  quite  remote  from  each  other,  afford- 
ing me  a  varied  and  widely  extended  experience.  And  what 
a  retrospect  is  that  which  covers  more  than  half  of  this  nine- 
teenth century !  Surely,  in  its  bearing  upon  either  our  civil 
or  our  ecclesiastical  condition,  it  is  well  fitted  to  awaken  with- 
in us  the  strongest  and  most  kindling  emotions.  What  period 
in  the  world's  history  has  been  so  crowded  with  startling  and 
momentous  developments !  What  century,  like  ours,  has  ever 
unrolled  such  a  catalogue  of  strange  and  unlooked  for  experi- 
ences! But,  brethren,  fascinating  as  such  a  subject  would  be, 
it  is  not  my  purpose  to-day  to  dwell  upon  the  thoughts  which 
such  recollections  are  fitted  to  awaken.  I  propose,  rather,  to 
confine  myself  to  what  is  more  strictly  personal  to  myself, 
while  calling  your  attention  to  a  brief  outline  of  my  official 
career.  After  completing  my  collegiate  course,  and  my  studies 
in  the  General  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York,  I  was  ad- 
mitted to  Deacon's  Orders  in  Christ  Church,  Baltimore,  now 
known  as  the  Church  of  the  Messiah,  on  September  20,  1840, 
by  the  Rt.  Rev.  William  Rollinson  Whittingham,  D.D.,  my 
most  valued  friend  and  theological  instructor,  who  only  three 
days  before,  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  the  same  city,  had  been 
consecrated  as  the  Bishop  of  Maryland.  On  the  Sunday  suc- 
ceeding my  ordination,  at  the  request  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Johns,  afterward  Bishop  of  Virginia,  I  officiated  in  Christ 
Church,  where  I  had  been  ordained,  and  of  which  he  was  the 
rector.  In  his  necessary  absence  I  took  charge  of  the  services, 
and  preached  both  morning  and  evening.  During  that  week  I 
paid  a  visit  to  Hagerstown,  at  the  request  of  the  Bishop,  and  on 
the  following  Sunday  I  officiated  in  St.  John's  Church,  which 
was  then  without  a  rector.  The  next  day,  to  my  great  surprise, 


11 


I  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  rectorship  of  the  parish.  I 
at  once  declined  the  call,  as  my  health  was  no  little  impaired, 
and  I  did  not  feel  myself  able  to  undertake  the  charge  of  so 
large  and  laborious  a  parish.  But  after  another  Sunday,  the 
call  was  earnestly  renewed,  and  then  after  further  delibera- 
tion, and  at  the  special  request  of  the  Bishop,  I  decided  to 
waive  my  objections  and  accept  the  position.  I  found  the 
climate  of  that  neighborhood  well  suited  to  my  needs,  while 
each  day  I  was  more  and  more  drawn  to  so  kind  and  genial  a 
people.  Entering  at  once  upon  duties  which  I  had  feared 
would  prove  far  too  laborious,  I  found  myself  steadily  gain- 
ing in  health  and  in  strength,  and  for  nearly  ten  years  I  con- 
tinued my  ministrations  in  the  same  field.  So  deeply  inter- 
ested was  I  in  my  work,  that  I  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  several 
earnest  calls  both  within  and  without  the  Diocese.  It  may  in- 
terest many  of  you  to  know  that,  in  1843,  I  was  solicited  to 
undertake  the  rectorship  of  St.  James's  Church  in  Wilming- 
ton, in  this  State,  and  I  was  also  urged  to  accept  the  charge 
of  two  other  important  parishes  in  North  Carolina.  Little 
did  I  suspect,  when  refusing  these  overtures,  at  this  early 
period  of  my  ministry,  that  after  thirty  years,  I  should  come 
among  you,  to  discharge  the  weightier  duties  of  the  Episcopal 
Office. 

Only  a  few  months  after  entering  upon  my  parochial 
duties  at  Hagerstown,  I  made  a  vigorous  effort  to  establish 
within  the  bounds  of  my  parish,  a  school  of  a  high  order  for 
boys,  which  afterward  developed  into  the  College  of  St. 
James,  and  proved  a  most  admirable  and  successful  institu- 
tion. Many  students  went  from  this  State  to  enjoy  its  supe- 
rior advantages ;  but,  while  in  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  it 
was  broken  up  and  its  students  scattered,  as  one  of  the  sad  re- 
sults in  the  early  stage  of  our  late  civil  war.  Some  time  after 
the  final  close  of  the  war,  the  institution  was  partially  re- 


12 


vived,  but  only  as  a  grammar  school,  and  in  that  capacity  it  is 
still  doing  an  excellent  and  satisfactory  work.  The  original 
establishment  of  that  institution  laid  heavy  burdens  upon  me, 
as  it  fell  to  my  lot,  not  only  to  set  the  scheme  into  motion, 
but  to  raise  all  the  funds  for  the  purchase  and  fitting  up  of 
the  property.  So  long  as  I  remained  in  Maryland,  I  took  an 
active  interest  in  promoting  its  growth  and  welfare,  and  at- 
tended regularly,  as  one  of  the  trustees,  all  the  meetings  of  the 
Board.  It  was  one  of  the  greatest  trials  and  disappointments 
of  my  life,  when  I  heard,  while  absent  in  Europe,  of  the  closed 
doors  of  the  college,  and  the  overthrow  of  a  work  which  was 
so  full  of  hope,  and  of  such  brilliant  promise. 

More  than  a  year  after  my  ordination  to  the  Diaconate,  on 
Sunday,  December  19,  1841,  just  fifty  years  ago  to-day,  I  was 
ordained  by  Bishop  Whittingham  to  the  Priesthood,  in  St. 
John's  Church,  Hagerstown,  and  two  days  afterward,  on  the 
Feast  of  St.  Thomas,  the  Apostle,  in  the  same  Church,  I  was 
duly  instituted  by  the  Bishop  into  the  rectorship  of  the  parish, 
and  authoritatively  invested  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
belonging  to  that  office.  I  had  been  already  officiating  in  the 
same  parish  for  nearly  fifteen  months,  but  under  the  neces- 
sary restrictions  by  which  the  office  of  a  Deacon  is  limited. 
In  this  parish  I  continued  to  exercise  my  ministry  until  the 
early  spring  of  1850,  when  I  was  invited  by  the  vestry  of 
Trinity  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  to  the  rectorship  of  that 
parish,  made  vacant  by  the  consecration  of  its  late  rector,  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Upfold,  as  the  Bishop  of  Indiana.  In  the  month  of 
April  I  visited  Pittsburgh,  and  took  official  charge  of  the 
parish,  and  after  a  few  weeks  there,  I  returned  to  my  old 
home,  took  leave  of  my  much-loved  parishioners,  and  made 
arrangements  for  the  removal  of  my  family. 

The  duties  of  this  new  field  I  found  extremely  laborious, 
but  I  was  warmly  encouraged  and  sustained  by  a  large  and 


13 


Active  body  of  laymen,  who  seemed  always  ready  to  give  me 
their  cordial  co-operation.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months, 
finding  our  church  building  much  crowded,  I  urged  upon  the 
vestry  the  purchase  of  an  eligible  lot,  and  the  erection  of  an- 
other church,  not  to  take  the  place  of  our  own,  but  as  a  sort 
of  chapel  of  the  old  church,  and  after  a  little  time  to  be  set 
off  as  an  independent  parish.  The  vestry  and  parishioners 
responded  liberally  to  my  suggestions,  and  we  proceeded,  at 
once,  to  secure  a  very  desirable  lot,  upon  which  we  erected  a 
large  and  beautiful  stone  church  at  a  cost  of  about  forty 
thousand  dollars.  Shortly  after  its  completion  it  ceased  to 
be  a  chapel  of  Trinity,  and  was  duly  organized  as  St.  Peter's 
Church,  with  its  own  rector,  wardens  and  vestrymen.  The 
congregation  of  Trinity  were  content  to  occupy  the  old 
church,  and  we  looked  forward  with  confidence  to  the  day 
when  another  and  a  nobler  edifice  should  occupy  the  site  of 
old  Trinity.  The  building  was  too  good  to  be  abandoned  for 
the  present,  and  I  advised  no  change  until  it  should  require 
substantial  and  thorough  repair.  All  this  came  about  in  due 
time,  and,  some  years  after  my  resignation,  a  noble  church 
was  erected  on  the  old  site  at  a  cost  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars. 

After  a  residence  of  ten  years  in  Pittsburgh,  years  full  of 
encouragement,  but  abounding  in  cares  and  labors,  I  felt  a 
desire  for  a  period  of  rest,  coupled  with  the  advantages  of 
foreign  travel  and  study.  Accordingly  I  tendered  my  resig- 
nation of  the  parish.  To  this  the  vestry  refused  consent, 
but  proposed  to  me  two  years'  leave  of  absence,  and  author- 
ized me  to  select  such  clergyman  as,  in  my  judgment,  might 
be  suited  to  the  place,  to  take  charge  of  the  parish  during  my 
absence.  I  assented  to  this  arrangement,  and  left  for  Europe 
with  my  family  May,  1860. 

I  had  hardly  settled  down  for  a  period  of  rest  in  Switzer- 


land  before  I  was  written  to  and  urged  to  go  to  Florence  in 
the  autumn,  and  undertake  the  establishment  of  an  American 
chapel  there,  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  large  numbers  of  Amer- 
icans who  found  it  such  a  pleasant  place  for  a  winter's  sojourn. 
This  summons  I  sought  to  escape,  as  it  would  wholly  interfere 
with,  and  interrupt  all  the  plans  which  I  had  been  forming. 
But  such  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  me,  that  I 
finally  consented  to  inaugurate  the  work,  and  carry  it  on  for  a 
few  weeks  with  the  expectation  and  pledge  that  a  clergyman 
should  soon  be  provided  to  continue  the  services.  Such  help, 
however,  was  not  forthcoming,  and  I  continued  in  regular 
charge  for  five  months.  I  then  suspended  the  services  until 
the  following  season,  by  which  time  it  was  confidently  expected 
that  a  regular  chaplain  would  be  secured.  After  an  extended 
tour,  during  the  summer,  in  England  and  Scotland,  I  went  to 
Rome  for  the  succeeding  winter.  Meantime  the  civil  war  had 
broken  out  in  America,  and  we  were  filled  with  anxiety  and 
alarm.  In  Rome  we  found  no  resident  ambassador  from  our 
own  country,  and  consequently  there  was  no  American  chapel. 
I  regularly  attended  the  services  and  rendered  occasional  help- 
in  the  English  chapel.  When  in  the  spring  of  1862,  the  time 
had  arrived  for  my  return  to  America,  and  the  resumption  of 
my  duties  in  Pittsburgh,  I  naturally  felt  a  great  reluctance  to 
take  the  step,  for  it  was  about  the  darkest  period  in  the  history 
of  the  war ;  and  "  men's  hearts  were  failing  them  for  fear,n 
while  in  the  deepest  uncertainty  as  to  what  the  issue  might 
be.  Having  all  my  family  abroad  with  me,  in  quietness 
and  peace,  and  where  my  children  could  enjoy  superior 
educational  advantages,  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  abandon  all  idea 
of  a  return,  until  the  affairs  of  our  country  were  in  a  more 
settled  and  hopeful  condition.  Consequently  I  sent  over  my 
resignation  of  the  parish,  giving  my  reasons  for  doing  so. 
These  reasons  were  fully  appreciated  and  my  resignation  was 


15 


accepted.  I  returned  again  to  Rome  for  the  winter  of  1862-63. 
I  found  that  an  ambassador  had  been  sent  out  by  the  United 
States  to  Rome,  and  he  had  secured  and  brought  out  with  him 
a  clergyman  of  our  Church  to  act  as  Chaplain  to  the  Embassy. 
Services  were  held  regularly  in  the  building  where  the  am- 
bassador resided,  and  at  the  request  of  the  chaplain,  who  was 
not  in  vigorous  health,  I  rendered  him  constant  and  regular 
assistance.  Owing  to  the  disturbed  condition  of  affairs  at 
home,  no  very  large  number  of  Americans  were  that  winter 
sojourning  abroad.  Leaving  Rome  in  the  early  spring,  I 
travelled  extensively  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  and, 
in  the  winter  of  1864-65,  I  made  an  extended  journey  to 
Egypt;  up  the  Nile;  to  Mt.  Sinai  and  Syria.  Upon  my 
return  from  the  East,  I  visited  Rome  in  the  spring,  and 
found  another  ambassador  representing  our  country,  and  I 
was  earnestly  solicited  by  him,  and  by  numbers  of  my  fellow- 
countrymen,  then  in  Rome,  to  accept  the  position  of  Chaplain 
to  the  Embassy. 

After  much  consideration,  I  consented  to  do  so,  but  only 
upon  the  condition  that  we  should  jointly  rent  a  large  apart- 
ment, in  one  of  the  old  palaces,  which  he  should  occupy  with 
his  family,  while  reserving  for  me  the  largest  room  in  the 
suite,  to  be  fitted  up  for  a  chapel,  and  kept  exclusively  for 
that  purpose.  All  this  was  accomplished,  and  in  November, 
1865,  we  had  a  most  comfortable  chapel,  in  a  large  and  superb 
apartment,  in  a  very  central  position.  Rome  was  crowded 
that  winter  with  Americans,  and  our  chapel  was  often  so 
thronged  that  the  doors  of  the  large  room  adjoining,  which 
was  the  office  of  the  Embassy,  were  thrown  open  to  accom- 
modate the  overflow.  The  owner  of  the  palace,  one  of  the 
Roman  princes,  who  occupied  the  first  floor,  and  who  was  a 
great  all}7  of  the  pope,  was  so  much  annoyed  by  the  crowds 
of  distinguished  Americans,  who  were  constant  attendants  at 


1(3 


the  chapel,  that  he  refused  to  renew  the  lease  to  the  ambassa- 
dor, unless  he  would  agree  to  give  up  the  services  in  the 
chapel.  The  apartment  was  accordingly  surrendered.  I  then 
proposed  to  take  the  risk  of  making  the  chapel  independent 
of  the  Embassy,  and  procured,  at  my  own  cost,  a  large  hall  in 
a  very  central  quarter,  which  I  fitted  up  for  a  chapel.  Here, 
without  any  molestation,  our  services  were  regularly  held 
during  the  entire  winter  of  1866-67.  But  in  the  spring, 
when  we  were  near  the  end  of  the  season,  and  only  a  small 
number  of  Americans  were  left  in  the  city,  the  ambassador 
was  formally  notified,  by  Cardinal  Antonelli,  that  the  services 
of  our  Church  could  not  be  held  after  the  present  season 
within  the  city  walls,  unless  carried  on  within  the  building 
occupied  by  the  ambassador.  Being  myself  most  anxious  to 
keep  the  chapel  apart  from  the  Embassy  as  the  only  security 
for  its  permanence  and  stability,  I  decided  to  go  outside  one 
of  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  to  take  an  apartment  for  our 
chapel,  where  there  would  be  no  fear  of  any  interference. 
But  I  could  get  no  one  to  join  me  in  assuming  this  responsi- 
bility. Accordingly,  I  took  a  lease  for  four  years  of  a  large 
room,  once  used  as  an  English  chapel,  but  now  much  dilapi- 
dated, at  the  cost  of  six  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  ordered  it 
put  in  thorough  repair,  and  fitted  up  in  a  churchly  way  for 
our  services.  An  American  banker,  who  usually  remained 
during  the  summer  in  Borne,  and  who  was  a  zealous  member 
of  our  Church,  consented  to  superintend  and  direct  the  whole 
work.  When  we  were  ready  to  commence  services,  as  we 
usually  did,  the  first  Sunday  in  November,  we  found  a  very 
neat  chapel,  all  nicely  fitted  up,  and  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate five  hundred  people.  I  found  myself,  however,  not 
only  responsible  for  the  rent,  but  also  for  the  sum  of  three 
thousand  dollars  which  the  repairs  and  improvements  had 
cost.    But  the  chapel  was  now  on  a  solid  basis.    That  winter 


17 


Rome  was  again  filled  with  Americans,  and  many  of  them 
persons  of  much  wealth,  and  zealous  in  their  devotion  to  the 
Church.  And  all  were  so  charmed  to  find  such  a  pleasant 
chapel,  and  one  so  much  more  commodious  than  any  which 
had  been  previously  occupied,  that  they  gladly  and  willingly 
contributed  liberally,  to  meet  these  costs,  so  that  before  spring, 
not  only  every  dollar  of  the  rent  and  the  cost  of  the  improve- 
ments was  provided  for,  but  a  very  liberal  salary  was  also  se- 
cured for  the  rector. 

I  was  much  cheered  at  all  this,  as  I  now  had  the  guarantee 
of  the  permanent  continuance  of  our  services.  This  impor- 
tant work  having  been  accomplished,  and  not  wishing  to  re- 
main permanently  in  a  foreign  land,  I  began  to  entertain 
thoughts  of  a  return  to  my  own  country.  I  continued  in 
charge  at  Rome  until  the  spring  of  1869,  and,  in  the  following 
autumn,  turned  over  the  work  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nevin,  who 
has  continued  the  care  and  direction  of  it  up  to  this  present 
time.  Soon  very  important  changes  took  place  in  Rome,  and 
upon  the  entrance  into  the  city  of  the  Italian  army,  and  the 
overthrow  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  pope,  the  way  was 
opened  for  carrying  out  our  long-cherished  desire  to  have  a 
large  church  and  one  worthy  of  the  American  people,  erected 
within  the  city.  Dr.  Nevin  at  once  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity,  and  found  many  who  showed  a  deep  interest  in 
the  work,  in  our  own  land,  and  who  contributed  liberally  for 
the  important  object.  The  result  was  the  selection  of  a  com- 
manding site,  and  the  building  of  an  attractive  church  edifice, 
at  a  cost  of  some  $150,000.  And  there  may  it  stand  for  genera- 
tions to  come,  as  a  witness  to  the  Ancient  Catholic  Faith,  as 
upheld  by  the  Reformed  Anglican  Communion. 

After  giving  up  my  charge  at  Rome,  I  decided  to  pass 
another  winter  and  spring  in  an  extended  Oriental  tour,  in 
company  with  my  wife  (who  was  not  able  to  accompany  me 
upon  my  first  visit  to  Egypt,  Mt.  Sinai  and  Palestine). 


18 


At  the  end  of  this  journey  we  returned  in  the  summer  to 
England.  Before  deciding  upon  any  plans  for  the  next  win- 
ter, I  received  most  unexpectedly,  in  the  autumn  of  1870,  an 
urgent  invitation  to  the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  of  San 
Francisco,  which  was  the  oldest  and  strongest  congregation 
of  our  Church  upon  the  Pacific  coast.  While  not  prepared 
at  once  to  decide  the  matter  of  duty  in  connection  with  this 
call,  I  made  arrangements  to  leave  for  America  with  a  part 
of  my  family,  and,  shortly  after  our  arrival  in  Baltimore,  I 
started  with  one  of  my  sons  for  San  Francisco.  Upon  reach- 
ing our  destination,  the  latter  part  of  December,  I  was  warmly 
welcomed  by  a  committee  of  the  vestry  of  Trinity,  and  escorted 
to  lodgings  that  had  been  provided  for  us.  After  surveying 
the  ground,  and  officiating  for  two  Sundays  in  the  church,  I 
decided  to  accept  the  charge,  and  entered  at  once  upon  my 
duties.  Blessed  at  the  time  with  excellent  health,  and  aided 
by  an  efficient  assistant,  1  found  much  to  cheer  and  encourage 
me,  although  I  found  it  a  field  calling  for  arduous  and  unin- 
termitted  labors.  In  the  spring,  I  was  elected  by  the  conven- 
tion of  the  Diocese  as  one  of  the  clerical  deputies  to  the  Gen- 
eral Convention,  which  was  to  meet  in  October,  in  Baltimore. 
I  proceeded  to  Baltimore  in  September,  and  took  part  in  the 
deliberations  at  that  most  interesting  and  important  Con- 
vention. Soon  after  its  close,  I  returned  to  California,  with 
a  portion  of  my  family;  three  of  my  sons  being  still  in 
England. 

I  continued  in  charge  of  Trinity  parish  until  the  spring  of 
1873,  when,  upon  my  election,  in  May,  as  Assistant  Bishop  of 
this  Diocese,  and  the  ratification  of  this  election  by  the  Church, 
I  resigned  my  charge  in  San  Francisco,  and  went  with  my 
family  to  Baltimore.  I  had,  previous  to  my  election,  arranged 
to  visit  England  that  summer,  and,  crossing  the  Atlantic  with 
part  of  my  family,  we  passed  a  very  pleasant  summer  abroad. 


19 


As  my  consecration  had  been  arranged  to  take  place  Decem- 
ber 11,  in  Christ  Church,  Raleigh,  we  left  for  New  York  dur- 
ing the  month*  of  November,  and  reached  Raleigh  on  Decem- 
ber 9.  The  consecration  took  place  as  arranged.  Bishop 
Whittingham,  of  Maryland,  whom  I  loved  with  the  devotion 
of  a  brother,  and  by  whom  I  had  been  ordained  as  Deacon  and 
Priest,  was  the  Consecrator,  assisted  by  Bishops  Atkinson  and 
Lay.  The  sermon,  which  was  one  of  great  ability  and  excel- 
lence, was  preached  by  Bishop  Lay.  As  this  was  the  first 
consecration  of  a  bishop  which  had  ever  taken  place  in  the 
diocese,  it  naturally  drew  together  a  large  number  of  the 
clergy  and  laity,  who  were  deeply  interested  in  the  sacred 
solemnities.  I  began  my  Episcopal  duties  the  same  evening, 
by  preaching  in  Christ  Church,  and  administering  the  rite  of 
Confirmation.  In  the  discharge  of  my  Office,  as  Assistant 
Bishop,  I  found  both  help  and  comfort  in  being  associated  with 
one  whom  I  so  loved  and  honored  as  Bishop  Atkinson.  Our 
relations  were  always  of  the  most  cordial  and  affectionate  na- 
ture, and  I  felt  it  to  be  a  great  blessing  that  the  weighty 
burden  and  the  manifold  cares  of  the  Episcopal  Office  did  not, 
in  their  fulness,  come  suddenly  upon  me. 

And  it  was  a  great  grief  to  me  when  the  tidings  reached 
Raleigh  early  in  January,  1881,  that  he  had  been  called  to 
his  rest.  His  health  had  been  so  feeble  for  nearly  a  year  be- 
fore his  departure,  that  most  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  the  office  had  been  devolved  upon  me.  But,  when  I  found 
myself  quite  alone,  and  unable  to  enjoy  any  longer  the  benefit 
of  his  wise  and  judicious  counsels,  I  felt  how  great  was  my 
personal  loss,  and  what  an  increased  burden  was  laid  upon 
my  shoulders.  And  here  let  me  add  how  much  I  have  all 
along  appreciated  the  forbearance,  the  sympathy,  and  the  cor- 
dial good  will  which  I  have  so  constantly  experienced,  at  the 
hands  of  both  the  clergy  and  the  laity  of  the  Diocese. 


20 


At  the  second  Diocesan  Convention  which  met  after  the 
death  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  namely,  May,  1882,  preliminary 
steps  were  taken  looking  to  the  division  of  the  Diocese.  And 
at  the  Convention  which  met  the  following  year,  the  creation 
of  a  new  diocese  was  decide'd  upon,  and  a  petition  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  General  Convention,  which  met  the  following 
October,  asking  its  consent  to  the  same.  The  General  Con- 
vention gave  its  consent,  and  a  new  diocese  was  formed  within 
the  limits  of  our  old  boundaries ;  and,  after  the  consecration  of 
the  Bishop,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  charge  of  the  new 
diocese,  my  duties  were  confined  in  narrower  limits  ;  but  the 
steady  enlargement  of  our  mission  field  has  added  so  much  to 
my  labors  that  I  have  found  but  very  little  diminution  of 
them.  And  while  I  am  persuaded  that  there  are  many  dis- 
tricts of  the  Diocese  where  more  ought  to  have  been  done, 
yet,  on  the  whole,  I  feel  that  we  have  good  cause  for  con- 
gratulation in  view  of  the  advance  and  progress  which,  as  a 
Diocese,  we  have  been  permitted  to  secure.  Many  valuable 
accessions  have  been  made  to  the  ranks  of  the  clergy,  many 
new  missions  have  been  securely  established,  a  large  number 
of  new  churches  have  been  erected,  and  several  missions, 
which  a  few  years  ago  were  only  in  a  weak  and  struggling 
condition,  have  become  self-supporting  parishes.  There  has 
been  also  most  encouraging  progress  in  the  mission  and  edu- 
cational work,  which  we  are  carrying  on  for  the  benefit  of  our 
colored  people.  Several  new  congregations  have  been  formed, 
and  new  churches  provided  for  them.  Flourishing  parochial 
schools  are  also  doing  their  most  important  work,  in  connec- 
tion with  nearly  every  one  of  our  colored  congregations. 

And  in  this  connection,  I  must  say  a  word  in  regard  to 
that  most  excellent  institution,  St.  Augustine's  Normal 
School,  here  in  Ealeigh.  It  is  in  a  more  prosperous  condition 
than  ever  before.    In  place  of  the  very  unsatisfactory  frame 


21 


structures,  which  were  consumed  by  fire  some  years  ago,  we 
have  now  a  large  four-story,  substantial  brick  building,  erected 
by  the  help  of  liberal  friends  at  the  North,  at  a  cost  of 
$10,000;  and,  by  means  of  which,  our  work  is  done  with 
greatly  increased  facilities.  Let  me  further  add  that,  through 
the  gift  of  $11,000  by  Mr.  John  H.  Shoenberger,  of  New  York, 
a  large  brick  building  has  been  erected  on  the  grounds  of  the 
Ravenscroft  property,  at  Asheville,  as  the  home  of  Ravens- 
croft  Mission  and  Theological  Training  School ;  while  the 
Ravenscroft  High  School  for  boys  is  now  in  a  most  flourish- 
ing condition,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Ronald  McDon- 
ald, its  highly  cultured  and  successful  Head  Master.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  a  most  excellent  Home  School  for  boys  has  been 
established  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bronson,  near  the  salubrious  town 
of  Warren  ton,  which  is  very  highly  appreciated  and  most 
successful.  Nor  should  I  forget  to  notice  among  our  other 
signs  of  progress  the  movement  which  has  been  inaugurated 
for  the  establishment,  near  Salisbury,  of  another  school,  to  be 
conducted  at  the  least  possible  cost,  and  which  can  open  its 
doors  to  those  who  are  compelled  to  forego  the  advantages  of 
more  highly  cultured  and  expensive  schools.  And  finally,  I 
must  not  omit  to  speak  of  the  increasing  prosperity  of  dear 
old  St.  Mary's,  here  in  Raleigh,  and  which  will  soon  be  ready 
to  celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  its  establishment.  All 
this  is  most  cheering,  and  affords  abundant  reason  for  pro- 
found gratitude  to  God. 

At  this  point  it  is  proper  for  me  to  make  some  reference 
to  an  important  duty  outside  the  Diocese,  which  I  felt  specially 
called  to  undertake.  Early  in  1886,  I  received,  from 'the  Pre- 
siding Bishop  of  the  Church,  a  commission  to  undertake  the 
Episcopal  oversight  of  the  American  churches,  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  My  long  previous  residence  abroad,  and  my 
familiarity  with  the  conditions  of  this  foreign  work,  led  me  to 


m 

feel  that  I  ought  not  to  decline  the  duty  thus  laid  upon  me. 
1  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  November  of  1886,  and  made  a  visi- 
tation of  all  the  American  churches  in  Europe  which  were 
under  my  charge.  During  that  visit,  I  consecrated  the  large 
and  beautiful  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  in  Paris ;  and  a 
little  later,  the  attractive  Church  of  St.  Johu,  in  Dresden.  I 
also  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  then  in  course  of 
erection  at  Nice ;  which  church  was  consecrated  by  me  at  my 
next  visit,  two  years  later,  in  1888.  During  both  of  these 
visitations,  every  kindness  and  courtesy  was  shown  me ;  while 
in  Paris,  in  Geneva  and  in  Nice,  I  shared  not  only  in  the 
most  generous  private  hospitality,  but  in  the  most  abundant 
social  attentions.  But,  after  completing  the  second  of  these 
visitations,  in  the  winter  of  1888-89,  I  felt  that  I  could  hardly 
spare  the  time  from  my  diocesan  duties  for  continuing  any 
longer  this  charge.  Accordingly,  about  a  year  ago,  I  sent  my 
resignation  to  the  Presiding  Bishop,  and  urged  its  immediate 
acceptance.  He  consented  to  my  request,  and  I  was  much 
gratified  by  the  appointment  of  the  Bishop  of  Albany  to  suc- 
ceed me. 

It  was  not  long  after  my  return,  from  the  last  of  these  for- 
eign visitations,  that  I  was  called  to  a  great  personal  bereave- 
ment, and  a  few  months  later  my  health  began  to  be  seriously 
affected  by  a  protracted  attack  of  insomnia,  and  from  which, 
even  now,  I  am  not  wholly  relieved.  But  amid  all  my  trials 
and  difficulties  I  was  greatly  cheered  and  comforted  by  the 
profound  sympathy  which  was  so  widely  manifested.  In  fact, 
ever  since  I  came  to  minister  among  you,  I  have  experienced 
only  the  kindest  and  most  generous  consideration.  And  I 
can  say,  with  all  truthfulness,  that  the  strongest  sentiment 
which  finds  place  in  my  heart,  is  a  deep  sense  of  my  un worthi- 
ness of  all  the  kindness  and  the  affectionate  interest  which 
have  been  eo  uniformly  manifested.    It  is  this  loving  sym- 


23 


pathy  which  so  cheers  and  encourages  me,  and  fills  me  with 
earnest  desires  to  be  ever  constant  and  untiring  in  the  dis- 
charge of  my  duties.  While  deeply  conscious  of  the  work 
which  has  been  left  undone,  I  do  feel  that  my  episcopate  has 
not  been  by  any  means  unfruitful.  There  has  been  encour- 
aging progress  on  every  side.  Our  mission  work  has  been 
greatly  enlarged.  The  number  of  faithful  workers  in  the 
ministry  has  been  steadily  increasing,  and  there  has  been  a 
cheering  advance  also  among  the  laity,  in  active  efforts  for 
the  extension  of  the  Church.  More  than  forty  new  churches 
have  been  built,  and  the  most  of  them  very  neat  and  attrac- 
tive edifices,  since  I  came  to  minister  among  you  ;  and  several 
others  are  now  in  progress  of  erection. 

Bat  while  so  much  has  been  done,  let  us  consider  well  how 
much  more  might  have  been  accomplished,  if  only  a  deeper 
love  for  our  Divine  Master  had  found  place  in  our  hearts,  and 
a  readier  spirit  of  self-denial  and  self-sacrifice  had  been  more 
sedulously  cultivated.  For  what  has  been  accomplished  let  us 
thank  God  and  take  courage.  But  beyond  this,  we  must  all 
strive  to  realize  how  great  and  how  binding  are  the  obligations 
which  rest  upon  us,  and  with  what  increasing  zeal  and  dili- 
gence we  should  be  seeking  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  As  we  draw  nearer  the  end  of  our  earthly  career, 
may  we  have  grace  to  see  more  and  more  clearly  what,  after 
all,  are  the  interests  which  should  find  the  warmest  place  in 
our  hearts ;  what  are  the  true  and  real  treasures,  which  have 
an  abiding  value ;  what  are  the  living  hopes  and  the  kindling 
promises  which  are  alone  unfading  and  eternal.  Alas!  what 
is  life,  when  measured  only  by  its  earthly  limitations  ?  Alas  ! 
for  him  whose  only  estimate  of  it  is  circumscribed  by  what 
this  world  can  give  us.  The  true,  the  real  life,  is  that  for 
which  we  must  here  be  preparing.  The  dispositions,  the 
characteristics,  the  tastes,  the  qualities  which  are  here  cher- 


24 


ished  and  encouraged,  are  those  which  shall  be  indelibly 
stamped  upon  us,  and  which  must  fix  our  future  destiny- 
Each  year  is  bringing  us  so  much  nearer  the  hour,  when  we 
shall  be  summoned  to  give  an  account  of  our  stewardships. 
Brethren  and  friends,  may  we  all  ponder  well  these  serious  and 
momentous  considerations,  while  lifting  up  our  hearts  in  ear- 
nest prayer  to  God  that  we  may  be  found  diligent  in  the  dis- 
charge of  every  duty  and  faithful  in  the  fulfilment  of  every 
trust.  Then,  when  the  shadows  of  life's  evening  are  darken- 
ing around  us,  may  it  be  our  sweet  privilege  to  close  our  eyes 
in  calm  and  heavenly  peace,  while  looking  with  trustful  con- 
fidence to  the  coming  glories  of  the  Resurrection  morn.  Then 
shall  be  seen  the  dawning  of  that  blissful  day,  for  which  all 
nature  has  so  long  been  yearning  and  groaning ;  the  day  when 
there  shall  be  revealed  a  renewed  heaven  and  a  renewed  earth 
wherein  dwelleth  righteousness.  O  !  happy  he  who  shall  then 
be  permitted  to  hear,  from  the  lips  of  his  loving  Lord,  that 
cheering  and  most  welcome  plaudit,  "  Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 


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